Fan Dance
by Crimson Bttrfly
Summary: Who says that a married couple’s first encounter needs to be romantic? Heavily inspired by the conditions set for a ByakuyaxHisana challenge.


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****Disclaimer**: No, I still do not own _Bleach._ I am merely borrowing the characters for some good ole nonprofit fun!

**Summary**: Who says that a married couple's first encounter needs to be romantic? Heavily inspired by the conditions set for a ByakuyaxHisana challenge.

**Rating**: K+ for the _mild _violence.

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**Fan Dance **

It was typical. It always started off so typically. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? Tradition, ceremonies – they are all predictable. They amble along following the same format every time. There was no surprise… Perhaps that was why he was attracted to tradition. Perhaps, he enjoyed the cognitive miser-y that went along with the script. No real thinking was to be involved. Just follow the steps and then it was all over…

It was the Festival of Summer. It lasted a week. He did not know why the Festival of Summer needed to last a week; in fact, no one knew why. It just did. It was "tradition".

Well, it _would have been_ like tradition if a certain influential shinigami hadn't made a rather impromptu and subsequently heeded suggestion. "_Instead of just ceremonially releasing their zanpakutō why don't the adjutants spar with one another? The seated officers rarely get to spar with members of other divisions. It would be beneficial!"_

'_It would be beneficial…_' He scoffed as the words ran through his head. Without realizing it, he was looking askance at the very shinigami who had made the suggestion. All bedizened in a pink haori – the very sight of the shinigami elicited a scowl.

"Vice Captain of Division Six, Byakuya Kuchiki," a clear voice called.

Instinctively, the Vice Captain's posture became ramrod straight. With robotic precision, he took a step forward. Byakuya's expression was icy; his presence aloof. He was a picture of austerity. If one had not known that he had risen to the position of Vice Captain within the last year, one would have fancied him a hardened shinigami.

"Vice Captain of Division Four, Hisana --"

Byakuya's jaw tightened reflexively at the selection. He had known who he had been partnered with to spar… and he had found it insulting. It was still insulting. Members of the Fourth were not combatants. They were part of the infirmary division. They were the people you went to when you needed healing – not when you needed defending.

Imperceptibly, he bristled as he evaluated his opponent. She stood approximately six feet away, dressed in standard shinigami attire. Diminutive in frame she looked as if a good wind could sweep her off the battlefield. Hanging from her hakama-himo, where most shinigami affixed their zanpakutō, was a fan. He repressed the callow urge bubbling from within him to roll his eyes. No one had ever even seen this _Hisana_ in combat, and thusly no one had ever seen her armed let alone knew what her release was. He just hoped that she had remembered to bring a weapon… He knew that members of the Fourth often wandered about unarmed – an action that was frowned upon by other divisions.

Hisana bowed politely, and took a step forward once her introduction was given. The two then walked a straight line to where the "match" was to take place. The area was a small sandy circle of dirt that's borders had been hastily drawn by a stick. Once the two were on opposite sides of the "field", the announcer began with the directions – the same directions Byakuya had heard on four separate occasions already. But, it had become _tradition_ – the instructions needed to be stated in order for the battle to commence.

"The rules are simple. There is to be no death, and injury should be minimized. Remember, this is a _sparring_ match. Winning is not important, but it is desirable for both shinigami to release his or her zanpakutō before the conclusion of the match. The match is declared over under the discretion of the Captains of both parties."

'_Winning is not important,'_ Byakuya thought ruefully to himself as he placed a firm hand on the hilt of his sword.

Who _really_ believed that?

Byakuya assumed a defensive posture, and kept his eyes on his opponent. His thoughts, however, were focused on how easy this was going to be. Perhaps, even more so since she did not appear _armed_…

Hisana stood relatively unmoved when the command, "Begin!" was exclaimed. She quietly withdrew her fan from its place at her hakama-himo and flicked it open. Her stance, unlike Byakuya's, seemed more fitting for an odori dancer than a warrior.

It began with a bow… Tradition was even present on the battlefield…

Byakuya made the first move. Releasing Senbonzakura's shikai would be just too easy. Instead, he decided to test his opponent. He wanted to see if he could provoke her into releasing her zanpakutō first; that way the qualifications of the match would be fulfilled.

He flash-stepped to her back. It was his favorite maneuver, but he had misjudged his speed. He had underestimated his opponent's ability, and had put a greater handicap on himself than was necessary. Hisana had easily blocked his strike with her fan.

It only took an instant – of her catching his blade with her fan – for Byakuya to lose focus. Perplexed, he glanced down at the fan. _'It's no ordinary fan…'_ he mused. But, before he could fully comprehend the implications of this observation, he fell prey to her counterattack.

Byakuya, however, was swift, and his instincts proved him well. Her attack had only pierced through the fabric of his robes – lightly nicking the side of his chest. Lifting his arm slightly to take stock of the damage, Byakuya lowered his brows. He didn't understand. Her attack had gone right through his kimono, but her weapon was a fan. At most, supposing that the tip of her fan was reinforced with something beside paper, it should have just slashed open part of his robes… not gone through them.

Mindlessly, he staved off a few of her kidou attacks, and launched a few half-hearted attacks of his own as he tried to think through the situation. He had come at her back; she had turned; then -- an epiphany.

All the pieces came together.

'_Her zanpakutō isn't the fan,'_ he mused to himself, increasing his speed with each attack until he neared her threshold of perception. _'She's hiding it with the illusion of a fan… I remember now. When she attacked, she had to lift the illusion from her zanpakutō… Yes, it was a staff she had used.'_

Byakuya repressed the boyish urge to smile once he realized her trick. His repressed urge, however, took another form – one of force. Armed with this newfound information, his attacks became relentless. His euphoria grew with every attack and parry. It would not be long before she would have to release, or be felled in the process.

Hisana, however, was becoming increasingly fatigued by her opponent's assault. With each blocked strike, his speed increased and so did his attacks. She was sure that in between many of his attacks that she had not even the time to perform a counterattack. She was lucky that she could muster enough speed to ward off his strikes. But, with each passing moment he was gaining more momentum. _'They had told me he was fast…'_ her inner voice recalled. _'Well, if speed is in his favor, I need to find some way to disengage and regroup…' _

Byakuya's attack made a hollow thud as his sword landed at an awkward angle for his opponent. Hisana went skidding across the sandy ground. Clutching her injured hand, she lifted her fan in front of her and summoned a look of repose as she stood.

Byakuya stood with his gaze glued to her. A cool breeze wafted through the field, and then it hit him. He could hear Hisana softly chanting through her clenched teeth. The rhythm of the chant sounded vaguely familiar. Quickly, he went through a proverbial inventory of incantations in his head until he realized the one she was about to unleash – a lightning attack.

He lifted a brow; he was rather amused by her choice. If executed correctly, the bolt of electricity should relentlessly attempt to lock onto his spiritual energy. The spell was not particularly deadly or extremely hard to evade – it was, however, a pain in the ass to divert when unleashed.

"Scatter," Byakuya stated in a firm but bored tenor.

Hisana stopped her incantation to look up at Byakuya. She smiled weakly at the sound of reluctance in his voice. He did not want the battle to go on any longer than she did... She did not need but to catch an eyeful of the glow of his katana for her to follow likewise.

"Divine Wind!" her voice rang out. She lifted her arm upward and flicked open her fan. With a graceful gesture of her hand, her fan dissipated, revealing a long golden staff.

The moment his myriad of blades threatened her position, Hisana guided her staff in the direction of the onslaught. Her biting wind attacks easily hindered the bevy of small blossom-shaped blades.

Byakuya was far from amused by this development… He should have guessed that by her illusion – a fan – that her attacks would be wind based. While her opposing spiritual energy felt hard and fast against his own, he could detect a weakness.

Instantly, he silenced his attack for a moment, instead focusing on defending himself from hers. This battle would be decided by a stratagem – especially so since death was definitely not allowed in their situation.

By pulling back his attack, Hisana's wind attack was felt with more accuracy. While never concerned by the prospect of being ripped in half by the ferocious gusts, Byakuya was able to discern where the vulnerability laid in her attack. A small glint of radiance caught his eye. With stunning perspicacity, he had managed to not only locate but to exploit the weakness in her wind-attack.

Hisana was no fool to the change in her opponent's demeanor. His once stoic visage changed. The change in emotion on his face was subtle, but she could tell by his self-satisfied look that he had discovered the weak point where her overlapping gusts were open to attack. It was her cognitive processes that proved to be too slow in ascertaining just how he would behave with this information. The moment she felt the increase in his spiritual pressure, she stood temporarily transfixed.

Byakuya was sure he had won.

Hisana braced herself before whirling her staff into a horizontal position in front of her. Her hands tightly gripped the middle of her staff, and she fought through his spike in spiritual pressure as Senbonzakura attempted to rip her wind-attack to shreds. Feeling physically spent, Hisana took a step backward.

'_It's inevitable,' _she thought to herself, still trying her best to stem the tide of blades clawing to get past her defenses. The moment the last shred of her resolve had been torn asunder, Hisana felt her body burn as adrenaline flooded her system. _'There has to be some other way!' _

"Reversal of Fates!" she cried, feeling every muscle in her body tense.

The battlefield suddenly blackened and became sinisterly still. An abrupt purple radiance erupted from the ground. Slowly, the light drew around the pair, making a strange sigil on the ground. Once the sigil had been completed, the pair's position on the battlefield was reversed. Hisana was now standing where Byakuya had been, and now he faced the brunt of his own attack.

He stood in wide-eyed panic. The hand that still held Senbonzakura's hilt shot up in front of him. The deluge of blades was quickly diverted as he summoned them back to reform the blade of his katana. Releasing baited breath, Byakuya turned his attention to his opponent.

Hisana looked cadaverous in appearance. She stood braced against her staff, the end of which she had planted into the ground. The attack she had beckoned had drained her of much of her energy. She was lucky just to be on her feet, and her waning condition had been duly noted by both Byakuya and the announcer of the match.

Byakuya gracefully slid his weapon into his sheath, and gave a bow of his head.

"Match over. Draw!" the announcer declared, rushing to the middle of the arena.

An imperceptible smile lengthened Byakuya's lips as he looked her over.

Hisana bowed her head knowingly.

And thusly, Byakuya and Hisana were "formally" introduced…


End file.
